


Webs are Homes

by Onikotsu



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-13
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-01-12 04:57:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1182192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onikotsu/pseuds/Onikotsu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate timeline where before Danny can gain his ghost powers his parents and friends are killed by ghosts and he’s taken in by Mr. Masters. While the two men are lost in grieving Plasmius sees the opportunity presented.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Notes/Warning: Mental manipulation that will get worse as the story goes on. The pairings will both be slow build and fucked up. For a better idea of where this story is going check out my very tired ramblings here- http://verticalthoughts.tumblr.com/post/76385440317/is-it-horrible-that-i-totally-want-a-vic-where-dannys, though warnings for spoilers. Vert is to blame for everything curse her lovely self.

Danny stared down into the grave, the coffin covered with all the flowers thrown in after it. Next to it were two others, the Fenton family all laid to rest together. All except him. He distantly wondered if he climbed into the grave if they would just cover him up too; leave them all to sleep together. 

An unfamiliar grip, not as gentle as his mother’s or as strong as his father’s landed on his shoulder. He looked up to see Mr. Masters, the man who had arrived from Wisconsin the day after Danny had come home to find everyone he loved dead, strewn about in a room full of party supplies. 

They had been preparing a surprise party for him, everyone he loved in one place.

Mr. Masters had stayed by his side the entire time. At Sam and Tucker’s funerals he had been there as silent support. Danny could tell that he was trying to do the same here, but there were tears leaking from his eyes and his face was scrunched up in the effort of holding more back. Danny didn’t have any tears left, he felt he wasn’t even really here at all so he put his hand on top of the larger one on his shoulder, offering some support back this time. 

They stood at the graves until no one else was left except the gravedigger who finally gave up waiting for them to leave before beginning to fill in the holes. 

Mr. Masters had people pack for him, everything in the house with nothing left out. Danny had felt the urge to yell at him, to tell him he had no right to make things so final, to make everyone so dead, packing up their lives like they wouldn’t be coming home sometime soon to resume them. But he was so tired and he knew Mr. Masters was too. 

So he didn’t say anything and just watched the boxes be packed up into the moving trucks. 

When they got to the castle he wasn’t given a tour, they didn’t even bother to turn the lights on in the hallway. He followed the slim man to where he would be staying, not his room, that was back in Amity Park. 

He went to bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time before drifting off. 

******************

Plasmius watched Vlad and the boy mourn without interfering. Occasionally Vlad was capable of catching hints of his emotions; though usually the man would brush them off as his own he knew that if he did not stay completely submerged and Vlad caught a hint of his emotions now the game would be up. 

After all, there was no reason he would feel absolute joy now. 

No Vlad was focused on the love of his life being dead before he even told her how he felt, that the man he had been planning revenge against was lost to him and the fear of failing their son, the last living, breathing proof of Maddie.

But where Vlad saw only loss and grief Plasmius saw the bigger picture. He always had been so much better at that than Vlad. And here he had been presented so many possibilities that he could hardly contain himself. 

He lasted until the first night back in Wisconsin. After Vlad put Daniel to bed he himself went to go drink in his study, mourning the lost of might have beens and Maddie, Maddie, Maddie. Plasmius waited until he was far gone enough to not notice the pulling feeling of duplication and slipped away in his own body. 

He needed to stretch, to not feel the constant oppression of overwhelming grief pounding down on him. The idea of that being a long-term agony was not one he planned to endure. And he knew just the thing. The boy Daniel was the key. Vlad had already proven he would try to take care of the boy even through his own grief. 

He found himself hovering at the foot of the boy’s bed, invisible as he watched him stare at the ceiling. He had little understanding of the way humans grieved. But he knew that the most powerful force was anger. Even in Vlad’s darkest days it had been the anger that kept him upright, kept him moving forward towards success. So he would give that gift to the boy. He doubted it would be hard; right now he seemed so empty that anything would fill him up. 

His plan, slowly forming, would be a risk. In all his years he had never revealed himself as a separate entity to anyone. He had simply been Vlad’s ghost form. A power. He had known that Vlad would never accept that his power was not fully his to control. But he would show Daniel the way to anger and Daniel would be grateful and love him. That love could be very useful. 

As Plasmius watched he decided to give the boy a few weeks, to let him grieve and watch him. After 20 years of waiting that was no time at all.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was past its midday peak by the time Danny got out of bed. It had been like this for the last few weeks, he would get out of bed so very late and go to bed early. The effort of being awake, of risking feeling something, was draining. There wasn’t any real reason to wake up; he already knew what he would be doing, because he had done it the day before and the day before that. 

Today wouldn’t be any different. 

He went to the kitchen and asked the personal chef for food before sitting in the dining hall to wait for it. By the time it came out Mr. Masters had joined him, in a suit and tie, always. 

They shared breakfast, or lunch he supposed, in almost complete silence. Everyday when they were done Mr. Masters would sit there until Danny got up. He felt a little guilty but he liked seeing the little signs of grief in the older man, the proof that he wasn’t totally alone. 

When Danny got up he went to go watch movies he had seen a hundred times on the massive screen of the private theatre. As he left the dining hall he heard the sound of Mr. Masters getting up as well to go and do whatever he did during the day. 

This pattern was safe, comfortable almost. Better than the one time he had tried to break it and look through a box of his things. 

The sight of one of the action figures Tucker once accidently left at his house had destroyed all of the control he’d gathered. Just watching movies was so much safer. With the movies playing he could shut his eyes and pretend that Sam and Tucker were right beside him in the theater. 

He was in the middle of one of Sam’s favorite films when the static started. At first Danny thought that it was just a glitch in the old monster movie but when he opened his eyes the static was forming shapes, figures flashing for an instant before shifting into something new. Daniel got up, his heart racing for the first time in forever and headed to the projector, wanting to turn it off, make it stop. 

“So sorry about that dear boy but I needed to get your attention.” Said a voice behind him. 

He spun, hands coming up to defend himself instinctively. A man stood there, a decent distance away but he shouldn’t have been there at all, shouldn’t have been real. His skin was pale blue, dressed in some sort of white costume, and his eyes were red, glowing in the dim room. 

Danny’s mind automatically snapped to ghost before he pushed it away. There were no such thing as ghosts and he wasn’t going to think about them, because that would lead to thoughts about his family. He managed, “Who are you?” 

The figure’s eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise. “Well that’s more polite than I expected. I really assumed you’d ask what I am instead. The answer to the expected question is ghost, but my name is Plasmius.” He gave a small bow.

Danny stared at him before managing, “Ghosts aren’t real.” His thoughts felt sluggish, like he was waking up after a very long time. 

Plasmius snorted. “Are you trying to give me an existential crisis Daniel?”

Blinking at the unknown word he took a step back. “What?”

The ghost, because if it claimed to be a ghost and looked like ghost it probably was, especially after the static thing, sighed, “Never mind, I suppose you’re too young yet to cover that sort of material. Far too young over all.” The somewhat humorous expression dropped off his face as he said the last bit. 

He bristled instinctively. “I’m not that young.” Ever since the funerals he felt like an old man, body stiff and lost in old memories. 

Plasmius shook his head and took a step forward. “Every human is too young to lose everyone they care about it one fell swoop.”

The anger was a surprise, real and more present than anything had been in so long. His hands balled up into fists as he yelled, “Shut up!” If the ghost had been just a little closer he would have lashed out at him, not caring how pointless it might be. 

“Why, so you can go back to watching movies and sleeping like you’re just waiting for them to come back?”

Even as the words left his mouth Danny felt the lie in his denial. “I’m not! What the hell do you know? Go away!” But he had to admit that the look in the ghost’s eyes was knowing. He suddenly wondered if the ghost really did know what he was going through. After all ghosts would outlast everyone they loved too. 

Plasmius shrunk in on himself, taking a step back. “I’m sorry Daniel, I didn’t mean to make you mad… it just hurts me to see this happening to you.” 

The anger faded as fast as it came and all he could ask was, “Why do you even care?” He couldn’t quite believe that there just happened to be a ghost that cared about him instead of causing chaos like he had been told ghosts did. 

He shrugged, “I live here and it’s hard to miss the pain in this building, your situation really is terrible and I know something about grieving for what you can never have.” 

The mention of what had happened made him snap out, “You mean you haunt here,” defensively. He wanted to smack himself as soon as he said that, yes remind the ghost that he’s dead and left behind. They were practically the same, Plasmius had even said as much. He flinched a bit, expecting the ghost to get angry. 

Instead he just gave a weak smile before admitting, “Yes I suppose you could use that word choice as well.” Then he straightened his body back up and said, “But we’re digressing from the topic at hand. Helping you.”

“I don’t need help.” No help that anyone could give him, some people had said it would get easier with time but he wasn’t sure he believed them yet. 

He shook his head, “Everyone was murdered and even though Vlad is trying his best to find a lead no one has any true suspects yet. I’d say you need all the help you can get.”

Danny blinked in surprise. “Mr. Masters is trying to find the killer?” He’d thought he was just doing business stuff, there were probably so many things the man needed to take care of, the world didn’t stop just because a couple people were dead. Just his world. 

The ghost nodded, “Of course, he loved your parents dearly.” His voice gentled, sadness apparent in the quiet words, “They were his Sam and Tucker.”

For a moment he couldn’t speak as he thought about that, the loss of his own best friends welling up in sympathy, hot and painful in his chest. Finally he managed, “I didn’t know.” What could he even do with that knowledge? He didn’t know how to help Mr. Masters; he couldn’t even help himself. 

His voice stayed gentle as he said, “He does try his best to hide these things from you Daniel, he believes you shouldn’t have to deal with that, that you should be given time to heal in peace.” 

Danny couldn’t decide whether to be annoyed at being treated like he was weak or grateful. The man had never met him before but hadn’t complained at the idea of taking him in, provided for him, and apparently been trying to protect him and shoulder the burden of finding the killer alone. “I see.” He had a sudden thought and asked, “Does he know that you’re talking to me?” Wouldn’t he be mad that the ghost of his castle was betraying his secrets like this?

Plasmius shook his head. “Absolutely not. I have to confide in you…. He doesn’t even know I exist.” He took another small step towards him and Danny barely noticed, caught up in that startling piece of information. 

“What, but you ha- I mean you share this place right?” He was glad he had stopped himself from saying haunted again. But it didn’t make sense, why would Plasmius hide himself from someone he seemed to like?

“Yes, but… well a man who studies the ghost realm can make one… hesitant to reveal oneself. I don’t know for sure if he would try and study me but I’ve decided it’s much better to keep quiet and not find out. It’s a risk showing myself to you but I just couldn’t not try and help you, even if it means he finds out about me.”

He guessed that made sense and hastened to reassure the ghost, “I won’t tell him, I promise. But I still don’t know how you can help me.” He couldn’t raise anyone from the dead, and that was the only thing Danny could think of that would make things better, make the raw pain in his chest go away. 

“I can be someone to talk to, I won’t judge you. I can even be someone to lean on, I’m solid when I want to be.” He gave a small smile and shrugged, “If you need anything else I’ll try and help you with that too.”

A thought struck Danny, sparked by the knowledge that Mr. Masters was trying to track down the killer. He turned it over in his head before his eyes narrowed and he said, “I want to find who did it.” That sounded right, like what all the heroes did in the movies. They found out the truth and got justice. 

The ghost blinked in surprise and took a step closer. “What?” 

Danny swallowed before repeating himself, conviction rising from repeating the words, “I want to find out who murdered everyone. I don’t know how but I want to try.” 

Plasmius knelt so that they were eye level and one gloved hand laid itself on his shoulder, firm and real. “It could be very dangerous Daniel.”

The concern rankled him, even as the contact warmed him. “I don’t care, I need to do this.” Now that he had a purpose the lethargy of the past weeks was gone, burnt away, his brain determinedly clinging to this bringer of new life. 

Plasmius nodded seriously, staying eye level with him even as he let his hand fall from Danny’s shoulder. “Very well, you can count on me. I’ll try and get the documents Vlad has already compiled.” He frowned. “It would be so much easier to get them if he didn’t lock them up in the ghost proof safe each night. I would say I could just get them while he was up from his desk in the day but he stays glued there from breakfast to bedtime.”

“I can get him away from his desk.” It felt good to be able to do something that even a ghost couldn’t and it would be something to do right now, some way to start the quest for justice. 

His head cocked. “Are you sure? I mean you both have been so uncomfortable around each other so far.” 

That was true, but now there would be a reason to try, besides he owed the man who was also trying to help get justice better than silence. He didn’t feel guilty at the idea of tricking him away from his desk. After all, Plasmius had told him that he wasn’t making headway; he was just trying his own hand at it. 

“I can do it.” He’d draw from the truth, just like Jaz had mentioned one time. Thinking about her telling him that from where she was sitting on the sofa hurt but it also felt good. Like she was helping him from beyond the grave, it was a way to keep her with him. 

“Very well Daniel, when do you think you’d be able to get him away for at least a few hours? Though the longer the better really.”

He felt like he’d shake apart with this newfound energy if he didn’t make a move. “Right now. I’ll go and do it right now.”

Plasmius rose back to his full height, nodding. “If you’re sure, I’ll be waiting in the room right next to the office for when you’re able to.”

“Alright.” Danny turned to the door, expecting footsteps to follow him and when they didn’t he turned just in time to see Plasmius float through the wall instead. He took a moment to digest again that he was working with a real ghost before continuing on his way, a different boy than had walked through the theatre’s doors. 

****************

Vlad looked up at the sound of a knock at the door and closed the file on his desk even as he said, “Enter,” expecting it to be one of his staff. 

Instead it was Daniel and he found himself rising, worry welling up in him, the boy had never sought him out before. But the lack of distress on the boy’s face reassured him enough to relax back into his chair. “Daniel, what can I do for you?” 

For a moment he thought he wasn’t going to get an answer, from what he had read that sort of thing could be expected of those who had underwent so much trauma, and Daniel has so far been true to that. Lunches were painful in their silence but he wanted Daniel to know he was there for him without pressuring him into speech. Finally Daniel mumbled, “Um can I… can I ask you about my parents?”

He ignored the way his heart clenched, the pictures of their bodies in the file fresh in his mind, and nodded. “Of course.” It would hurt but he couldn’t deny the boy the first real contact he sought out. He leaned against his desk, hands laced, trying to brace himself.

Daniel squirmed and glanced at the door then back to him. “Can we go somewhere else? I kind of have a lot of… I just… I want to…” The way his voice caught and he tried to restart his words reminded Vlad of Maddie or Jack when they were struggling with something. He had never been close enough with another person to know if anyone else did that.

He supposed that made sense, his study was set up to be intimidating to anyone sitting across from him and this conversation was already so difficult on Daniel. As he rose he asked, “It’s fine dear boy, yes let’s go to the den, much more comfortable. Are you hungry?” Reports from the kitchen assured him that Daniel was eating more than the lunch they shared but it also revealed the small portions that were consumed. 

“A little.”

He managed a small smile. “Well then I’ll have something sent up to us.” Something warm and filling, proper comfort food. 

“Thank you, I’m sorry if I’m bothering you, I know you’re busy.” When Daniel glanced at the desk Vlad was so thankful he had closed the file, the last thing a barely 14-year-old boy needed to be exposed to was the carnage left behind. Though Vlad was content that he was at least making good progress. 

“Daniel, believe me when I say that you are never a bother. I know that this is new to us both and I would never dream of replacing your father” He dreamed of being better, of making Maddie see reason. But because of Jack he never would. If Maddie had chosen him he would have protected her. No ghost would have defeated him like they had destroyed Jack. “but I will do my very best to care for you.”

Daniel nodded and Vlad laid his hand on his shoulder, gently guiding him out of the study, closing the automatically locking door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can also follow on tumblr here- http://ocelly.tumblr.com/ if you want ^_^


	3. Chapter 3

Danny looked around, feeling like he would never be able to breathe in again. The living room was made up with all the party supplies, a banner hung for him. Surrounding him were five coffins, closed, with party hats placed on the lids. 

He stumbled and ran. 

Out of the living room and out of the house, down the street and found himself in Wisconsin, the castle’s safety before him as he ran faster towards it. The door was hanging open and when he ran inside it was cold. 

His bare feet were silent on the carpeting as he tried to find Mr. Masters’ room. But he didn’t know where to go and couldn’t even find the movie theatre. The sound of static had started and was growing louder, like an oncoming train. Danny whimpered and turned to try and find his way out, the safety he had hoped to find here nowhere to be found. 

He ran right into something soft and heavy that fell down on top of him, driving him to the ground. He shoved it off him, trying desperately to get free only to find that it was Mr. Masters, his shirt gone red, blue eyes gone. 

Through the gaping holes left behind he could see the living room, the bodies exactly where he had found him but writhing with maggots. It looked like Jazz was having a seizure. 

He woke up screaming. 

For several breaths he thought he was going to be sick as he thrashed free of the sheets, panic rising in him as the air sobbed out of him, catching painfully. 

The need to see Mr. Masters and prove to himself that he was all right was the most important thing, what his brain clung too. He couldn’t lose him too, the provider of sanctuary. He was already in the hallway by the time he realized that he really didn’t know where his room was. 

As he felt his mind spiraling he tried to focus and found the noise of the ticking clock. He stared up at the old fashioned clock and saw to his surprise that it wasn’t that late or that long since he had gone off to bed. 

Maybe Mr. Masters was still in the den. As he headed there he scrubbed at his eyes to clear off any trace of tears. The halls were dark and he moved faster to get back to the warm room. When he had left the fire had still been blazing. The light had been the perfect place for both of them to stare when they couldn’t face each other as Mr. Masters had told him about college memories. 

The tight knot in his chest unwound as he saw that Mr. Masters was still in his chair. He was still trying to think of something to say that would convince Mr. Masters to let him stay and take up even more of his time as he rounded the chair. But at the sight of him the thought of excuses fled his mind. 

Mr. Masters was drunk. His suit, always so immaculate was askew, the tie pulled down and the top buttons undone. His suit jacket was halfway down his arms as if he had been midway through shrugging it off and then forgotten about it. His heart stuttered as he saw the tears streaming down his face. “Vlad?” It didn’t seem right to call him Mr. Masters when he looked like his, so out of control and unlike an adult. 

The older man blinked, the sound of his voice rousing him. When his eyes locked on Danny he startled, wiping at his eyes and sitting up straight. “Daniel, my apologies. I was just… I thought you had gone to bed.”

“I did. I just had a nightmare.” He didn’t feel embarrassed admitting that, he could still see how red Vlad’s eyes were from crying. “So I needed to check if you were okay.”

He tried to give a polished smile but right now he wasn’t fooling him at all. Even as he claimed, “I’m fine dear boy.”

Danny took a step closer. “You don’t look it.” He looked fragile, like he could melt or shatter. He wasn’t supposed to look like this. 

He slumped. “I’m sorry, talking about them for so long was just unexpectedly taxing.”

Vlad had talked to him for hours, going from one story to another with barely any prompting and Danny felt a little guilty. “You could have stopped.” He was the adult here, he should have just said that he was done for the night, how was he supposed to have known how it would affect him? It wasn’t his fault; he had looked fine while he talked. 

He shook his head and the loose strands of his hair swayed. “No I couldn’t, you deserve to know about your parents. Deserve to know about Maddie as much as I can give you.” His voice hitched over his mother’s name and his head reached out for the tumbler full of amber liquid. 

“Don’t.” The command slipped out before he had even thought about it, but he didn’t want to see him making things any worse. Right now it seemed like it was Danny’s turn to take care of the older man and the responsibility kept the panic in the back of his mind at bay. 

“Very well.” He set the tumbler down onto the table, leaning back in his chair and wetting his lips with tongue, a distant look in his eyes. 

Danny breathed out a sigh of relief at having his command obeyed so easily before asking, “Do you need anything?” He had heard stories about parties but none of those had included how to take care of someone who had drunk too much. Drunk people were supposed to be funny, not this. 

Vlad frowned, thinking for a moment. “Some water would probably be best, yes it would be a good idea.” He nodded to himself. 

“Alright, just stay here.” He hurried off to get some water for him, filling up a big class from the cupboard before heading back to find Vlad exactly where he had left him. He tried to hand him the glass but when he watched Vlad’s hand shake he pushed it away gently and held the cup to the other man’s lips for him to drink. 

Vlad got most of it down, only a little spilling out of his mouth and down his chin and throat. When he was finished and Danny had set down the glass Vlad said, “You know Maddie used to do this for us when we were in college. She always knew her limits and Jack and I would compete and it always ended badly for me. Body mass was on Jack’s side, just like everything else.”

The harsh tone at the end caught Danny’s attention and he asked, “What do you mean?”

Vlad’s eyes were focusing, which would have been a good thing if not for the anger in them. “He caused my accident, testing the portal before it was stable. Maddie told him not to, I heard her right before he ruined my life. Had to drop out of school. Need to be in class for a science degree.” He laughed bitterly. “Not so much for a business one.”

Even though Danny felt the urge to defend his Dad, sure he had been clumsy and not always safe, but he was kind and a good father he felt relief. It felt good to hear something about his parents that wasn’t perfect. They hadn’t been but all of the stories he had heard at the funeral and even when Vlad was sober painted them both in such a perfect light. It made them feel like they were untouchable now. 

The Jack and Maddie in these memories weren’t perfect though, they made mistakes, partied. “It’s okay if you tell me the bad parts when you’re sober. I lived with them y’know, I could tell you some stories.” 

It was a surprise to realize that yes he could. Vlad was different than all the people who wanted him to talk, he had let him be silent when he wanted to be and he knew he wouldn’t be listening just to help him, but to store the memories away in his own heart, just like Danny had been greedy for every one of Vlad’s memories that he had heard.

Vlad nodded, “That’d be good, want to hear about Maddie.”

“Some other time, let’s get you to bed right now alright?” He didn’t look like he was capable of dealing with anything that might be upsetting right now. The older man nodded and rose. Danny helped keep him upright, making sure to pay attention to where they were going so if he needed to he could find his way there all by himself. He assumed that Vlad could make it to bed all right by himself so he let Vlad go in alone and closed the door. 

He shuddered as he took a deep breath, reminding himself that Vlad was fine, even if right now he seemed to be coming apart at the seams. Adults weren’t supposed to do that, they were supposed to always know what to do and if they didn’t they weren’t supposed to act like that. He took another deep breath and reminded himself that there was one adult in the house that did know what to do. He just had to find Plasmius and they could start working on putting together the information that Mr. Masters had gathered. He headed off down the dark hallways, calling for the ghost quietly, hoping to run into him soon. 

*****************

Plasmius had been planning to wait in Daniel’s room and give him the information he had gathered, he had no interest in hearing Vlad wax poetic over every memory of Maddie that he could. But when Daniel had come in he had went right to sleep and Plasmius had been left there, floating as he thought over the situation. 

He didn’t cause the nightmare but just quietly hung there in the air; invisible and watched his twist and scream as he was caught up in its clutches. He followed the boy as he headed back to the den, back to Vlad, trying to decide whether he should stop him or not. After all he wanted Daniel to come to him for comfort, not his human half. 

But it had all worked out beautifully, Vlad had been pathetically lost and Daniel had had to comfort him instead, shaking his faith in Vlad’s authority. And now he had a drunk Vlad all safely tucked away in his bed. 

He drifted only inches above him, just taking in the mess he was. He combed his fingers through the strands of hair, ever so gentle as he spread it out in a halo around his head, enjoying the feeling of his largest mark upon the man. Even if no one knew it still felt good to have some physical sign on him that he wasn’t who he had been before Plasmius, that he was marked forever. Asleep as Vlad was he leaned slightly into the contact of his gloved hand to his jaw, always so greedy for the physical contact he had been denied for so long. The undone shirt was practically begging for his fingers to trail down and explore more skin and when had he denied Vlad anything? Vlad sighed at the fingers and smiled a little in his sleep. “Maddie.”

Plasmius startled back as if he had been burnt, hissing quietly, teeth bared. Of course. Even dead that women was able to ruin things. But not for much longer. The desire to continuing enjoying Vlad was gone for the moment and he flew out the room, looking for Daniel. 

Using Daniel things could get better, would get better. He would be able to make Vlad look at him when he was touching him, make him moan his name and even punish him if he slipped up before he realized how much better Plasmius was for him. Daniel wasn’t in his room so he went looking for him, snarling under his breath, still fuming at the embarrassment of having Vlad call him that. He wished he could leave claw marks along his flesh when he did that, but it would be impossible to get away with that. Or bruises, a handprint that he would have the hardest time hiding. 

Soon though, for now he had to push his anger aside and be the perfect caring figure for Daniel to depend on. 

He finally found him by the sound of messy sobs and found him curled up in the hallway, having tucked himself back in a corner of one of the walls and a display case. He took a deep breath and knelt down a decent distance back before becoming visible. “Daniel?”

He barely stopped himself from flinching in surprise when the boy practically threw himself at him, clinging to the front of his shirt, burying his face in it. For a moment he thought about pushing the disgusting mess away, he was no one’s handkerchief. But then he reminded himself that this was what he wanted, the boy depending on him. Raising a hand up to rub at the boy’s back he asked quietly, “What’s the matter?” 

Daniel just continued to cry, any words that he had been hoping to get out lost in sobs. Plasmius forced himself to kneel there, being clung to by the boy and wrapped his cape around him, shielding him and his weakness from sight. 

The tears finally slowed and stopped until Daniel was just slumped silently against his chest, the only sound his hitched breathing as he calmed down. To Plasmius’ surprise he found that this entire time he had been slowly rubbing at the boy’s back. 

He felt the boy wiping at his eyes and let his cape flutter back to reveal Daniel as the he sniffled and managed, “Sorry. I just-“

He cut him off. “There’s nothing to apologize for Daniel, I did offer to be someone to lean on. And who better to go to than me for this?” Vlad had made the boy feel guilty for taking his comfort in him, for pushing him to talk. But he would be guilt free, the perfect listening ear. And in return Daniel would trust him and listen right back. 

Daniel stared up at him for a moment before accepting his words as truth and continuing on in a small voice. “Thank you, I just didn’t expect, Vlad was… they really were his Sam and Tucker and it’s all my fault they’re dead.” His breath sobbed again at that. 

Plasmius raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” There was nothing that pointed to the boy’s blame in the file. And his grief was a little too deep and all consuming to be an act. 

He took a deep breath. “Everyone was getting a surprise party ready for me. If they hadn’t been everyone wouldn’t have been there, Mom was probably distracted but if she had just been working then maybe, maybe she could have stopped the bad guys and defeated them.”

He barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes at that. Of course Maddie could have saved the day, the world. He looked forward to weaning the boy off talking about her. At least talking about her so reverently. He wouldn’t mind listening to her failures. But the way Daniel was looking at him for judgment in the matter was wonderful and he laid a hand on his head, gently ruffling his hair before telling him sternly, “That’s enough of that. It’s not your fault that they’re dead, it’s the fault of whatever ghosts killed them.”

“Ghosts?” At least he was already aware of ghosts existing now. Really it was just a testament to how pathetic Maddie had been that as a professional ghost hunter she had still not managed to convince her own son of ghosts.

“Ah, yes, when I read the file earlier this evening I saw that Vlad has already made the connection between ghosts and their deaths.” Which was rather perfect for what he had planned. 

“But how did he know about ghosts? He’s a business man.” It was almost enough to make Plasmius laugh, the idea that Vlad was merely a businessman who made his living honestly. It was a shame that one day he would have to ruin Daniel’s naïveté, it was quite amusing. 

Struggling to keep his voice serious he said, “He worked on projects with your mother and father in college Daniel, and he continued his research on his own as well.” At some point soon he would need to reveal how much. It wouldn’t do to appear to be hiding too much from Daniel considering the information he had already concealed about his own nature. 

Daniel nodded, eyes still red from crying and face still snotty but now focused on the promise of information and revenge. “Alright, tell me what else you found out.”

As adorable as his focus was Plasmius shook his head. “Not right now, now you need to try and get some more sleep.” Humans needed sleep and right now Daniel’s emotions would be so worn out from crying that he would be harder to manipulate. 

“I don’t need sleep right now.” But there was fear in his tone and Plasmius remembered the nightmare he had woken up screaming from and patted his shoulder. 

“I’ll watch over you and wake you up if you have any more nightmares. I should tell you everything in the morning when you’re rested and ready to really start thinking through a plan of action.” He made sure his tone was stern, Daniel needed an adult to look up to, to trust in and he could be that when he needed to be. 

“Promise?” His voice was so small and sweet even as he clung tightly to Plasmius, prompting the ghost to pick the boy up and start walking to his bedroom. 

He assumed that usually there would have been some sort of struggle and protest at being picked up but right now the boy was worn out and lost, eager to continue clinging to him as Plasmius told him, “Of course Daniel, I’ll never break a promise to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone can spot the line that Plasmius said that reveals what a manipulative slimball he is that Danny didn't catch send it to me in an ask via Tumblr http://www.tumblr.com/blog/ocelly and I'll write a short fic for you as a reward ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

When he had drifted off to sleep the night before he had thought that he would wake up so early, eager for the news that Plasmius had to give him. But he ended up sleeping in until his usual time to get up. Just as the ghost had promised he was still there, looking out of place in the warm sunlight seeping through his curtains. 

The ghost was just drifting, eyes closed and for a moment he thought he had caught the ghost sleeping before he sat up and Plasmius opened his eyes. Not the jerk of someone caught napping but of someone who had been awake and waiting the entire time. 

Plasmius floated nearer, resting on the bed as Daniel rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and flattened down his hair a bit. He wanted to look like someone that the ghost could take seriously and tell everything. Plasmius smiled at him, showing one side of his fangs as he did so. “Good morning Daniel? Are you ready?”

He nodded. “Of course.” The sleep was evaporating faster than it ever had, his pulse picking up, as if he would be able to act immediately on the information. 

Plasmius nodded and began reporting what he had found out yesterday. Ghosts had definitely killed them but a lot of the information that Plasmius gave him didn’t make sense and for once Danny wished that he had paid more attention to his parents. His cheeks burned as he had to ask again what something was. Plasmius started to answer before telling him, “You know Daniel I think it would be easier to just show you. How would you like it if we took a trip down into the lab together?”

Danny shifted slightly as he asked, “Are you sure Mr. Masters would let us?” The man didn’t even know the ghost was present in his house, and his parents had always guarded the lab carefully from anyone who wasn’t close to them. He liked to think that he was becoming closer to Mr. Masters but he doubted he would be allowed down into the lab quite yet. 

The ghost gave an almost sheepish shrug. “Well no, but how about this, you can ask him about his ghost research and I’m sure he’d be thrilled to show you his work. After all you’re now his ward and your parents worked on ghost stuff all the time so I don’t see why he wouldn’t trust you with a tour around the lab.”

Nodding he said, “Alright, sorry I just… he’s been really good to me and after distracting him yesterday and him ending up sad I feel bad.” Not bad enough to confess what he had done, but enough to try and be more careful of the other man’s feelings. And how much would it suck if he found out that he had been sneaking around behind his back and going places he wasn’t allowed?

“Understandable, you’re such a good boy Daniel, with such a good moral compass.” His hair was ruffled again and he could feel the hint of those claws on the ends of his fingers but they didn’t’ hurt him. He even leaned into the contact; it was such a familiar, comforting gesture. And it was nice to know that the ghost thought he was a good person, after being around for so long he probably had a pretty good sense of people after all. 

But something else caught his attention that caused him to pull away so he could look up at the ghost as he asked, “Why do you keep calling me that?”

One eyebrow raised and it reminded him of Mr. Masters’ a little as the ghost asked, “What?”

“Daniel. Everyone calls me Danny.” Everyone had, at least. Now he supposed with both Mr. Masters and the ghost calling him that everyone called him Daniel. 

He shrugged, a casual confidence in the gesture that Danny envied. “I’ve only heard Vlad refer to you by Daniel, but I think it suits you much better than Danny honestly. You’re such a mature boy for your age after what you’ve been through. I mean if you tried to talk to someone from your peer group now, well I don’t doubt you’d immediately be able to tell how different than you are from them now.” As he talked his hand had come to rub comfortingly at Danny’s back and he found he really didn’t mind how touchy the ghost was. Especially since he figured the ghost was just glad to have someone to touch after years of hiding. “But if you’d prefer Danny, I will of course call you that.”

It was great how well Plasmius listened to him, sure he occasionally seemed to argue if something seemed dangerous but he always let Danny have his way in the end. “No, you’re right, Daniel is better.” He liked the idea of being more mature, people who were mature, were more adult like, could do more. Jazz had always been able to make people listen to her because she acted like an adult. He knew that he still would think of himself as Danny but having other people look at him as being more mature was good. 

“Excellent. Well you should head off to your breakfast before it becomes actually dinner.” There a bit of a laugh in his voice and it reminded Danny of his mother when she had teased him about waking up so late in the summer. 

“Alright. Will you be here this evening?” There might not really be a reason for the ghost to be here but he wanted him here anyway, ever since he had come into his life it had been better and some part of him was terrified that without him he would sink back into just spending all day staring vacantly at the screen. 

For a moment he thought he’d say yes but then he shook his head. “No, unfortunately I have some things to take care of in the ghost zone tonight.”

“Ghost Zone?” That sounded familiar, like some project that his parents had been starting on…

“Where most ghosts live, I’d take you with me but I’m afraid that’s rather impossible.” He shrugged, the matter obviously closed and Danny nodded even as he felt his heart sink. But he reassured himself that he would at least be spending all day with Vlad in his lab after he asked to see it. 

He got up and after Plasmius floated through the wall he found that he actually wanted to get out of his pjs. And as he changed out of them he realized that he hadn’t taken a shower in forever. It had seemed like too much work. But now there was a reason to get up, revenge. Besides it was just filthy to be like this, Mr. Masters was so kind to not have said anything. As he stood under the shower spray he felt even more awake. He was going to learn about the ghost zone today and a lot of other things, Mr. Masters had been willing to share all of those memories last night with him, he had no doubt that he’d share his lab too. 

Once he got dressed in the clothes that had sat too long in his dresser drawers he headed for the kitchen, ordering slightly more than usual and sitting down to wait, knowing that Mr. Masters would be in soon, looking like he always did, not like the fragile Vlad he had seen last night. 

When Mr. Masters came in he still looked like Vlad.

For once he was in his bathrobe instead of a suit, looking like had just climbed out of bed and only taken a few moments to groom his hair into a semblance of order. He looked soft and Daniel felt the desire to take care of him again, especially now that he was dressed and showered for the first time in forever. He gave a small smile as he said, “Good morning.”

Vlad startled slightly even as he returned the greeting, not expecting him to speak, but Danny was determined to now. The more awake and alive he felt the more he despised his own behavior. Plasmius had been right; he had been just sitting there waiting for them all to come back instead of pressing forward and actually doing something. And Vlad was the way to get closer to what he wanted. He waited until they both had their breakfasts in front of them before asking, “So you did research with my mom and dad back in college right?”

He nodded and he cut another slice of omelet for himself. “Yes, until there was an accident and I was forced to drop out of the science department.” Danny raised an eyebrow, wondering if maybe Vlad didn’t remember everything he had said. He had heard stories where people who were drunk didn’t remember everything. 

He prodded the topic gently to see if that was the case here, “The accident my Dad caused right?” Which he could totally believe was the case, his father wasn’t the most careful person in the world. 

There was a moment of panic that flashed across the older man’s face before it smoothed out into his usual expression and Daniel had to wonder how many other things he had hidden under that same look. “Yes, I’m sorry did he mention it?”

Daniel shook his head. “No, you did last night.”

His thin mouth pulled into a grimace for a moment before he picked up his coffee and took a large gulp of it before asking, “Oh, I see, may I ask what else I told you?”

Daniel shrugged. “Nothing else really. But that’s not important, what I was wondering about was what research you’ve done recently? Can you tell me about it?” His Dad had always been so eager to talk about it that he assumed Vlad would be the same way and he wouldn’t even have to ask to see the lab but practically be dragged down into it. Not that Vlad tended to touch him very much and he couldn’t imagine being dragged anywhere by him. 

There was a slight pause before Vlad said, “I’m sorry to disappoint you but I haven’t done research in years. Running my business has been a rather consuming endeavor. But if you’re interested I’m sure that my scientists wouldn’t’ mind showing you a tour of their labs.”

Daniel shook his head, making his voice cheery even as he felt coolness spreading in his chest. “No that’s fine, I was just curious.” He knew Vlad was lying and it bothered him, why was he trying to hide it from him? It was important for him to know and the more he thought about it as he ate the angrier he got. It irked him to have Vlad acting like this, he knew better now. 

Vlad was just as miserable and lost as he was, what gave him the right to act like he was stronger than Danny? He had been the one taking care of him the other night. He resolved to talk to Plasmius again and this time take him up on the offer to see the lab without Vlad knowing. He wished that things could have been different but he needed his revenge and if Vlad wouldn’t give him what he needed to get it then he’d take it with Plasmius’ help. 

After a bit more coffee and food Vlad spoke up again, “I was wondering if you would like to come with me to the city this afternoon, I have a few meetings I need to take care of and the fresh air might do us both some good.”

“Sure, that sounds good.” Even though he didn’t even know anything about the city where they were going having somewhere new to wander around would be better than staying here, just waiting for Plasmius. 

A few hours later Daniel wished that he had stayed home. The city was loud after the peace of the mansion, with people bumping into him and just too much everything. It really wasn’t any fun alone anyways and he was on his way back to the office building where Vlad was having his meeting already. When he entered the lobby he thought for a moment about calling Vlad to let him know but he didn’t want to risk disturbing him in a meeting so instead he went up to the front desk and asked the receptionist. “Hi, I need to get to Vlad Master’s office, can you tell me where I should go?”

Her polite smile seemed to gain a bit of laughter in the corners of it. “I’m sorry, Mr. Master’s office isn’t somewhere you can just head.” And there was definitely a note of condescension in her voice now. “Do your parents work here, I can call them to pick you up.”

Her words stung, this was the first time he had talked to someone since his parents had died that hadn’t known to not say something like that. He swallowed hard and managed, “No they don’t, they’re not here, is there some way I could leave a message for him?” He just wanted to be with Vlad now, Vlad who knew and would be happy to see him, who cared about him and maybe he lied to him sometimes but at least he wasn’t this condensing woman. 

She sighed. “Sweetie you need to call your parents and have them pick you up, Mr. Masters is-“ 

The condescension and continued stabbing agony of remembering that his parents would never be called for him again, they would never come and pick him up again was enough to make him snap. He put his hands on the reception desk as he hissed, “My parents are dead and Mr. Masters is my guardian now. I drove here with him the limo, I’ve just been in the city and don’t want to call him during his meeting and disrupt him just because you’re being impossible.” It felt good to get mad at her, to snap at her and see how she pulled back from him. 

She blinked at him for a moment before saying, “I’ll… let me just call up to his office.” She pressed in a number on her telephone with her manicured nails as Daniel seethed. He listened as she talked to the person on the other end, and when he saw her pale and stutter he couldn’t help but smile, hard and nasty. When she hung up she turned to him, no longer condescending but almost scared. “Listen Sweetie I just-“

He suddenly realized that she was afraid he was going to get her fired and instead of trying to console her he liked the idea. He wouldn’t’ do it of course but he liked that power over her when he had been helpless just minutes before so he didn’t let her finish and snapped, “Don’t call me sweetie and just tell me where to go.” It was mean but she deserved it after making him hurt and treating him like a kid when a ghost treated him like an adult. 

She nodded hurriedly, “Of course, just take the elevator to the 37th floor.” She paused a moment before pleading, “Please don’t tell Mr. Masters, I really didn’t know.” 

He shrugged. “We’ll see.” Before turning to walk away, feeling a deep satisfaction in the idea that she would worry over losing her job for a couple days. He really wasn’t going to tell Vlad so there was no harm in it, in fact it might make her a nicer person in the long run, less condescending.

He rode the elevator, ignoring the odd looks he got from the other occupants, eager to see Vlad again and go home. Home was peaceful where he didn’t have to worry about anyone giving him a hard time. No one who would so harshly remind him that his parents and friends were dead. Only Plasmius brought it up at all but the ghost was helping him solve their murder and would help him get revenge after they had found out who it was. He’d have to find some way to let Vlad know too, so the other man could feel the same satisfaction he was sure he would feel. 

When he got to Vlad’s floor he cautiously stepped out of the elevator to be greeted by his personal secretary who came out from behind the desk to greet him, “Hello Daniel, sorry about the issue downstairs, Mister Masters assumed that you would be in the city as long as possible. To stop this sort of thing from happening again I want to give you my number for the desk up here so you can always call if you need something while here.”

This was much better and he gave an awkward smile as he said, “Thanks.” He could see into the room beyond through the clear glass door and Vlad wasn’t there yet, probably still at the meeting and he was glad he hadn’t called him. 

She smiled, “Would you like something to drink or eat while you wait for Mister Masters? He’s still at his meeting.” She moved to a small refrigerator tucked off to the side when he asked for a coke and got him one. 

As he opened the can he asked, “When will he be done?” He wanted to see him, to have him near. In the mansion he was strong alone because he had a purpose and everyone would listen to him. But here the secretary downstairs had shaken his confidence and he wanted to see Vlad again, to have him acknowledge him. The more time he spent in the places that Vlad controlled the more he realized that people feared Vlad, that he was the only one who saw him as a comforting presence and he liked that, he was special to Vlad, 

She looked down at a schedule book on her desk, twisting her hair absently with her finger. “It might be another hour or so but I could lend you my iPad, I have a few games installed on it already and an e-reader.”

Vlad’s secretary seemed nice, he would have to tell Vlad that. “Yeah that’d be okay.” It’d be better than sitting around and watching the walls. Then he would start thinking and even though he had revenge to keep him strong it wasn’t enough to soothe everything. He didn’t know what would. 

The secretary set up the iPad and handed it over and he took his drink and a pack of crackers she had given him over to the couch where he made himself comfortable an started playing some stacking game. The couch was plush and the games mind numbing, interesting but not enough to keep him awake as he slowly fell asleep in the chair. 

He woke up to a gentle rocking of his shoulder, he groaned and tried to pull away from it and for a moment he was sure it was his mom. The words on his tongue died when he opened his eyes and saw Vlad and his throat closed up. For a moment he just stared at Vlad and then suddenly he was reaching for him and wrapping his arms around him as he began to cry. 

He missed his parents, he missed his friends and they were all gone forever. His parents would never pick him up from anywhere ever again and his mom would never rock his shoulder to wake him up again. It was unfair and he hated it and he just wanted them back. But there was no way to do that so he just clung to Vlad and kept crying. The older man patted his back ever so gently as he did so but didn’t try and move. Danny cried and cried until thee were no tears left in him again. Vlad rubbed his back, seeming a little surer of the action now as Daniel clung to him and drifted off to sleep, trapping Vlad on the couch with him. 

*************

As Vlad sat on the couch of his office, afraid to move and disturb Daniel now that he was sleeping again he rubbed his fingers into his forehead, trying to soothe the ache in his skull. He really should have known better last night. But it had just hurt so much thinking of how things had been. 

He had expected the good memories of Maddie to hurt, they had ached before she was even dead. It was the memories of Jack that had surprised him with how many good ones there were. How even some of the ones that he had thought were annoyances back then had startled a smile onto his face now as he remembered Jack’s habit of falling asleep on the couch and drooling. Or reaching out as Vlad poked him to get him up for class and pulling him into a hug before getting up, like that was something people just did. 

It had been too easy to drink, to try to create some level of fuzzy protection from all of those things because he didn’t think he could continue if he stayed sober. 

He had almost not gotten up when one of the maids had knocked on the door to let him know he was in the dining room but he had forced himself out of bed and to look halfway decent. After last night he couldn’t leave the boy alone, who knew how he was feeling after thinking so much about his parents. 

When he entered the dinning room to find Daniel looking better than he ever had before Vlad had to blink to make sure he wasn’t imagining it but yes the boy had changed out of pajamas and showered. 

But the change was good, encouraging, and he had offered to let the boy come into the city, partly to make up for lying to him. But from what he had pieced together when it came to the murders it had been ghosts that had killed Daniel’s parents and friends and he didn’t want the boy involved with that. He’d tell him the truth once he had found and destroyed the killers. 

He hadn’t expected to get a page from his secretary that Daniel was back so soon and had cut the meeting shorter than he really should have, afraid that something was wrong. It had been a relief to find him on the sofa, sleeping easily. And then he was crying, screaming and sobbing and Vlad had been so lost as to what to do. 

People didn’t cling to him for comfort, no one had ever needed him in the way that Daniel did right now and he had tried to comfort him through the storm of tears until they had ceased. As he watched Daniel sleep, eyelashes still wet he wanted to be able to do something more, to know how Maddie would have handled this. 

There were so many things he had wanted. 

In his daydreams about having Maddie and her children as his own he had never really thought about this and now he cursed himself for a fool. How was he supposed to deal with this? He felt the urge to cry welling up in him but he couldn’t not when he was sober and knew that Daniel was depending on him to be stronger. Vlad swallowed and it was amazing that he could run a multibillion-dollar corporation with ease and still feel so lost right now. He just wished there was someone out there who could help the both of them, who could make things easier, but he had the feeling like just as with everything else he was on his own.


End file.
